


ufortalte

by arenspoon (eunoias)



Series: Ufortalte [1]
Category: Brave (2012), Frozen (Disney Movies), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Moana (2016), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Crack Relationships, Evil Elsa (Disney), Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Hallucinations, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Past Character Death, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Regret, Swearing, Tragedy, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eunoias/pseuds/arenspoon
Summary: Stories never really end; there are just some untold chapters.A collection of oneshots and unfinished plots by yours truly!
Relationships: Anna & Moana Waialiki (Disney), Anna (Disney) & Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Elsa (Disney) & Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Elsa (Disney)/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Merida (Disney), Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood)/Rapunzel (Disney), Kristoff & Rapunzel (Disney)
Series: Ufortalte [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803748
Kudos: 44





	1. ufortalte

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the table of contents so you could skip over some parts? these were drafts i had from _centuries_ ago. i always wanted to put it back up again, and here they are 💖
> 
> hope you enjoy!

**1|** [ **let it snow, let it oh-** ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196834/chapters/58283533)

_Jack Frost & Elsa  
_**notes** : some causal flirting here and there

**2** **|[first fall of snow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196834/chapters/58285738)**

 _Rapunzel & Jack Frost  
_**notes** : i'm beginning to think this is the start of a beginning of a- _~~series?~~_

**3|** [**enchaîné**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196834/chapters/58293265)

 _Elsa & Hiccup Haddock III  
_**notes** : basically an excerpt from another upcoming project. still need to transfer it here tho  
imagine it’s the raw version?? idk

**4|** [**when the night is long**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196834/chapters/59105044)

 _Rapunzel & Kristoff Bjorgman_  
**notes** : in summary, _death_  
also might actually be connected to a string of stories to be uploaded

**5|[ cold winds are calling](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196834/chapters/58333996)**

_Hiccup Haddock III & Merida Dunbroch_  
**notes** : starving children basically

**6|[once upon a winter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196834/chapters/60470407/)**

_Anna & Jack Frost_  
**notes** : anna’s lost in the woods~

**7| last day under the sun**

_Kristoff Bjorgman & Rapunzel_


	2. let it snow, let it— oh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snowgies. They were Snowgies, as Olaf told him. Scaled-down versions of Olaf.
> 
> Fucking Snowgies.

The sun slowly rises from the horizon, bathing the sky in a gentle pink, signaling the early dawn.

Soft sun showers leak into her room, and shines right in between the crack of her eyes.

Even with her eyes closed, her lids were a bright orange. Oh, if only she could turn the sun off somehow and if only it were that easy. First thing she woke up to was the feeling of her nose clogged with snot which then started dripping down her throat. Next was the horrible, _horrible_ reminder of how she nearly twirled herself off the tower, and ended up worrying the hell out of the birthday girl. Then, there was cake. Everybody was happy.

 _Wait_ —

Little by little, her brain tried to process that time when she all but loses her balance at the tippy _fucking_ top of the clock tower.

Fragments of her embarrassing memories from yesterday started flashing before her eyes. And in every single one of them, a particular silver-haired boy was a part of it. Never did he leave her sights. That very face of his lingers and burns through the back of her head.

Tiny snickering and stifled laughter ring in her ears. That troublesome soul had been there and had to watch _everything_.

“Elsaaaaaaaa!”

 _Speak of the devil_.

In the middle of summer, it suddenly starts _snowing._ It wasn’t something out of the ordinary, considering Arendelle had a magical queen as its ruler. The thing is, none of this was her doing.

There he was again, his figure becoming larger and larger as he yeets himself in her direction. Frost started creeping up the glass as he stopped an inch away from breaking it. Jackson cocked his brow, grinning in delight. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”

“I can open it for you, but I won’t.” Elsa covers her face with a pillow to block him out.

Without any warning, he sends a strong gust of wind, knocking her window wide open. Elsa’s brows were constantly knitted together as her old friend floated over to where she was. Elsa suddenly felt the temperature drop. Not that it bothered her or anything.

What _did_ bother her was when that arsehole levitated her pillow off her face.

“How is my darling Snow Queen doing?” said the spirit mockingly. When he saw her making a fool out of herself at the tower, he could hardly believe his own eyes. And it shows on his face. She could feel the irony of it, every single bit.

How could someone who had complete control over snow and frost, as powerful and strong as her catch a cold? To be fair, she’s human, but _still_! “Is she not feeling well today?”

“Get out!” she demanded, wiping her snot with the back of her hand. It was too early for her to do anything at the moment, too early for _anything_ even. “I’ll let this go for now. You better leave before I change my mind.”

He perched himself at the foot of her bed, then settled where her toes were snuggled under her blanket. She kicked at him, prompting him to float over to her bedside instead.

“And why should I?” he shot her a smirk, ruffling her already disheveled hair. “Don’t you want me around to look after you? Want me to spoon feed you some soup?”

Elsa was definitely not in the mood for jokes.

“Jackson, get out of here or so help me, I’ll blast you back where you came from.” she snapped at him. Her warning could have sent anyone running off, but Jack didn’t so much as _flinch_. Her voice dripped with venom and he knew she was (somewhat) serious about him leaving.

What’s the big deal? He only wanted to visit her. Is it wrong to care and show his concern for once?

“Oh, please no!” Jack placed a hand to his forehead to add a dramatic effect, and feigned his hurt. “Can’t the queen consider her subjects? Can’t she spare an old fool like me?”

“You _are_ old, and you are a fool,” she pointed out as she sits herself upright while in bed. “But you are no subject of mine. I could send you off with a flick of my wrist. The wind does whatever I please, remember that, dear Jackson.”

“Or does it really?” he sent a flurry of snowflakes at her, which felt like he was peppering her with light kisses all over her face.

“Enough! That tickles!” Elsa bursts out in laughter, which caught him off guard. She kicked away at her sheets, making him stumble back and slip on his robe.

He quickly got back on his feet, and now, he was gliding over the room, dodging every snowball thrown his way. “Hah! You missed!”

“Think again, _Frost_!” the snow-coated ceiling fell on him in an instant, which gravitated him down to the floor. Next thing he knew, he was covered in snow. Elsa grinned at him in victory.

“That wasn’t fair!” he whined all while laughing. He never had _this_ much fun ever since she was cooped up in her room. He quickly recovered and rose to the height of her bed. “You were aiming at the ceiling on purpose!”

“It’s not fair that you fly either!” She does have a point, Jack thought. While Jack was too occupied thinking of an insult, Elsa took the chance to lob a snowball at his ashy locks. She sent another one flying to his face, which then made the winter sprite take a few steps back. “SPIRIT BE GONE!”

“Oh, it is _on_ , princess.” Jack made no effort in perfecting his snowball, because, why would he? He was Jack fucking Frost, his soft throws were as good and strong as anyone else’s.

It didn’t take long before the snowball landed on Elsa’s face. She was sneezing violently, and soon tiny snowmen piled up in the room.

There was no telling if there’s an end to this mass productions of blobs of snow.

So _that’s_ why she desperately wanted him to leave.

Snowgies. They were Snowgies, as Olaf told him. Scaled-down versions of Olaf.

Fucking Snowgies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, nothing like bringing back old trash from the past to relieve myself of my boredom this quarantine. Don't forget to smash that subsrci- I mean kudos button before you go.
> 
> Stay safe everyone~


	3. first fall of snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe if they met, she liked to think they would be good friends.

“It’s here, mother! It’s really here!”

As she was done brushing through her ten foot hair, Gothel releases her excitable daughter as she makes her way to see the evening sky. In a matter of minutes, the landscape was covered in thin layers of snow. The moonlight seeped into the tower, casting this magical glow that clashes with the warmth of the fireplace.

Five-year old Rapunzel hobbles over to the window sill, barefoot to feel the wind envelop her tiny body. Fresh clean air slaps her right in the face, and she giggled like mad. It was the first fall of snow this time of the year. About time, as she would say. No more sticky and sweaty summers, or pollen allergies, or bugs, or dead leaves inside the tower!

To her, it was always a magical experience—cuddling with her mother in front of the crackling firewood, warm glasses of milk. The night would glow, and everything was calm and quiet. To Gothel, it meant soaking wet boots and freezing journeys in the woods to stock up on food.

“Snow! There’s snow! There’s snow!” she cheered happily, admiring the intricate pieces of ice floating down from the sky.

Curiously, she reached for the snowflakes by sticking her arms out the window, in a stupid attempt to catch them. As they landed on her skin, they didn’t melt or disappear in the palm of her hands. It remained oddly in shape.

Gothel couldn’t care less about it, as it was time for bed. She pushed herself to her feet and walked over to where her daughter was. “Rapunzel?”

The longer she lingered by the window, the more likely she was to wind up like the dead bodies of the frozen children in the streets. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and Gothel saw it first hand this morning. She wouldn’t be surprised if her _other_ daughter would be among the number of corpses that line the streets. How she envied her blissfully ignorant daughter, having known nothing about the cruelty of the outside world.

That gullible brain of hers couldn’t comprehend the brutal nature of this season. Naive Rapunzel had no idea what this winter possibly meant to others. Little to no food, no firewood to keep them warm as temperatures drop to nearly a negative, and there’s the constant fear of dying from sickness.

Her mother Gothel, actually worried about her health, calls her over a final time. “Come down from there, darling! You might catch a cold.”

“Just a bit longer, _please_?” begged her daughter, staring at her with puppy eyes. Her cupped hands were turning red, which was definitely not a good sign. It should burn by now, but somehow there were hardly any complaints coming out of her mouth. Had her fingers numbed _already_?

At this rate, she was sure to catch a cold. Rapunzel would be no good to her if she’s dead.

Seeing as she can no longer talk to her with reason, woman thought she might as well settle with a lie. “Close the window, dear,” Gothel instructed, her skin shivering the moment the wind made contact with her face. “You wouldn’t want Jack Frost nipping at your nose now.”

“Yes, mother,” the girl sweetly replied and did what she was told. It seemed to have done the trick, but at the expense of her asking the same stupid question in every chance she could get.

“So you mean Jack Frost is _real_?”

It irritates her to no end. Day in, day out, she would go up to her just to repeat the same thing again and again.

“Jack who?” Gothel nonchalantly responds, and dismisses her ever curious child.

But Rapunzel remains insistent. “Jack Frost? You just said h—”

“Oh, _Jack_. He’s some stupid legend somebody made up.”

_Yeah, sure, someone to put all the blame on. A personification to explain the terrible weather conditions they were currently in._

“You mean he’s not… real?”

“He never was, and never will be. Did that answer your question?”

It was dead silent.

Rapunzel sadly nodded as she dragged her feet to her room.

“Good. Now off to bed.”

The wind was still, as if time itself stopped that particular night. Rapunzel felt this tension in the air, for some strange reason.

And for some strange reason, she could feel… sorrow.

Jack Frost.

What made her mother despise him so?

There must be a good reason behind it. Right?

Tossing and turning in her bed, Rapunzel couldn’t find it in her to sleep.

“I know you’re out there, Jack. And Mother thinks you’re… forget what I said.”

He was there in all the books, she had seen his name in the fine prints of her thick fairytale books she often read to sleep. He was even in her mother’s stories! She knew him down to the littlest details, like the white wisps of his hair and the blue of his eyes. The only thing the book didn’t tell about him was his story, how he came to be. It didn’t do him any justice. You don’t judge a book by its cover, and she wanted to know the contents. How terrible of a person Jack can be?

“He can’t be bad!” the little girl whisper-yelled, as if trying to convince the chameleon it’s the truth. “And I know he’s real, Pascal!”

The child longingly stared at the window. The sky was clear this night, without a single cloud in sight, and the moon was bright as ever. Rapunzel had hoped to see the spirit that very night, but even she knew there would only be a small chance of that happening. Doubt was starting to gnaw away at her mind, and she felt hopeless about it. He was only mentioned for a short time in most of the books she read, and...

“Maybe he _was_ made up after all. What do you think, Pascal?” her pet reptile was already sound asleep on her lap, as he had seemingly succumbed to the sweet spell of winter. She laughs dryly to herself. Now that she thinks about it, her drowsy eyes started to droop and feel heavy. She was trying to blink the tiredness off her eyes and fight back the urge to slip into her dreams. But it _was_ getting late.

“Mother was right…”

For a brief moment, there was this strong breeze coming in. The room grows a little cooler than it used to, she noticed belatedly. Her breath started to form clouds each time she exhaled. Suddenly, the air stung her cheeks, and her… nose.

_“Yeah, sure. Go on, pretend I don’t exist,”_

A small gasp escaped her lips. Was she hearing things? Because she definitely heard someone’s voice. She was wide awake now. Startled, she slides off her bed in a defensive stance.

_“What? Now you can hear me—?”_

There it was again—the same overly sarcastic voice. The thing is, she couldn’t see who it was.

She could call for her mother, and—no, it would be too late for that. If those thieves got to her, then it would be over! Rapunzel hadn’t a second to lose, so she grabs the closest object there is from her bedside drawer, chucking it in the direction where she first heard the voice. That object happened to be her favorite _lute_ , making the loudest possible noise it could make. And it didn’t take long before it reached her mother’s ears.

“Rapunzel, darling?!”

Panic sets in as she scrambles back to her feet and frantically shoves her book under her sheets. She dove for her bed and makes it just in time to compose herself.

“Darling, why are you still up? It’s _two o’clock_ in the morning.” her mother rubs her eyes as she parts the curtain. Gothel made it crystal clear that she didn’t want anyone ruining her beauty sleep by _her_ specifically.

“Actually, I was already asleep. I just woke up from the… noise.” Rapunzel answered, with her messy, wrinkled sheets up to her stomach. She did her best not to eye the broken instrument across the room. It was a good thing the candles weren’t lit up, and the lute was carefully concealed in the darkness.

Gothel didn’t believe a word she said, and the look of annoyance was clear across her face. Her mother pressed her eyes close and pinched the bridge of her nose. “From the looks of it, you were just about to sleep.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she pushed her blanket off of her legs, walking over towards Gothel, fanning her hands and feigned a yawn before escorting her out her room. “I’ll see you in the morning!”

When she was sure her mother had descended the stairs, she exhaled a breath of relief. At once, she returned to her bed, tucking herself in.

Rapunzel heard a voice—might even be Jack himself. But she can never know for sure.

She wanted to believe he was out in the world. A part of her still clings on to that tiny hope that he’s always there, always watching over her. She always wanted to meet him, talk with him in person. She wanted to ask him if he feels lonely flying all over the world. Was it nice there? Rapunzel was a little jealous.

Maybe if they met, she liked to think they would be good friends.

On the first fall of snow, she imagined, they would dance until their feet hurt, and he would take her away to lands she’d never set foot on.

Even if she had no proof of him, she still considered him a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically the chapter in a nutshell
> 
> Gothel: Jack Frost doesn’t exis-  
> Rapunzel: Maybe that’s what the government wants you to think


	4. enchaîné

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve had enough of living up to people’s expectations.”
> 
> “You and I both.”
> 
> They were bound to their own shackles and problems. Elsa thought they weren’t so different after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided i'd write evil elsa x hiccup for a change
> 
> this is basically the fourth chapter for my other work, but it's taking me too long to update. enjoy the spoilers!

“The Queen must be _stopped_.”

Her name alone was enough to send shivers down his neck up to the spine of his back. Stopped? Were they out of their minds? An entire army wouldn’t stand a chance against someone as powerful as her. They saw what she was capable of. What made them think they could go up against _her_?

The nobles and foreign dignitaries were all gathered to discuss about the pressing matter at hand. The ‘sorceress’ recently stormed out of the room, leaving them with no clue as to where she was headed, or what she was about to do. This had them worried. He didn’t feel right letting her off like that.

With the princess out of the picture, Weselton’s representative has taken this opportunity to appoint himself as the one ‘in charge.’ Of course, it was only temporary.

What she could possibly do with her powers—that, no one knows. The only thing they do know was what the duke _would_. He was afraid that it might get out of hand, or _she_ might.

“Maybe we could solve this in a reasonable manner—?”

“Silence, prince Hans. This is beyond your jurisdiction.”

No, no, Hiccup could hear more about this reasonable strategy of his. But that’s just his opinion. This was _also_ beyond his jurisdiction as a chieftain, and he was currently their prisoner. They even had him cuffed for the occasion.

Can’t say he blames them. They already had their hands full with the dragon boy, and the threat of an invasion could be inevitable. Peace was never an option at this point, and that was decided by the moment of Hiccup’s arrival.

So they sat there, waiting impatiently for him to say something. Hiccup was on edge—much like everyone present in the room. He couldn’t imagine what Weselton would issue after all that happened.

Hiccup had some sort of clue what he _would_ do. Weselton’s eyes were fixed on his face, though he looked as if he was debating whether or not he’d use him. “In order to do that, we need someone _capable_ of getting rid of her.”

All eyes were on Hiccup now.

Of course, they had to make do with what they have.

But surely they wouldn’t send a lone Viking like him. Right?

The question here is, _would_ they?

Again, nothing’s impossible. The past few minutes proved that anything can happen in a span of a day, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to him if they wished Hiccup went _instead_ to take care of the problem. “You, young fellow. Certainly someone as tough as you could manage through the winter. You do the honours of finishing her off.”

Of course, Hiccup was kidding. He was _beyond_ surprised. “You heard me.”

Shock was written all over his face. What? _Him?_ For real?

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third didn’t think he’d be involved in any of this. In fact, he was about to go home, had it not been for the Duke. “What are you waiting for? Go! After her!”

The Weselton man rose from his seat, going over to their Northerner captive his two men had been heavily guarding. Hiccup dreaded each step he took to get to his chair. “Me?”

“Yes— _you!”_ hurrying over to him, the duke of Weselton ordered his guards to have him released from his binds. Hiccup was escorted out of his seat, and the two men guided him to the door. The dignitaries present in the room scrambled to their feet, tailing behind them.

Soon, they were bursting through the doors until they were outside the castle. Most of the people, startled and cold, looked to him in hopes of getting a solution to the problem. “You’re going to save us from this storm! Free us from this curse that the wicked queen had set upon us!”

It seemed that he didn’t have a choice. Not that he had any, to begin with. “Can I say something on this?”

His words fell on deaf ears as he was urged forward by the old man.

“Get this man the finest sword there is!” the Duke was too busy preparing him for the storm ahead to listen.

Suddenly, the world around him turned into a blur. A maid draped an Arendellian cloak around him, and a man—who he guessed was the blacksmith—strapped the sword to him. “Can I at least have my dragon back?”

“Of course, of course!” the old midget faked a cheery tone, giving out orders to people left and right. “Bring in the beast!”

His brows drew together and took offense at his description of his friend. “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

The Weselton midget turns to face the crowd, taking Hiccup’s wrist before raising it over his head. Hiccup’s arm was barely above his chest as the Duke held it. It was enough to stir a sense of reassurance for the masses. “This man will bring the queen to justice!”

Emerging from the stable—he couldn’t imagine how they managed to confine him in such a small space—appeared a disoriented Toothless. Weselton immediately prompts him to his dragon. “Now, you have your pet, off to the North Mountain you go!”

“I don’t think I could do this.” he didn’t want to kill _anyone_ , for that matter. He didn’t want to have the blood of the queen to stain his hand. It would be too much for him, to bear the guilt of murdering a monarch who had done absolutely nothing wrong to him.

“Are you not up for the challenge, my boy?”

When did this become a challenge? Before he could react and comment any further, Weselton pushing him to mount his dragon. “Off you go!”

Most of the people had high hopes in him, expecting that he would take back the queen’s head as prize and bring home all the glory. The rest could only feel sorry for him—he could see the pity in their eyes as he passed them by. It was as if saying he won’t last a second on his own.

“Farewell!” the short man waved him off, watching him lift into the air and disappear up in the clouds. Hans and the rest of the nobles followed closely behind the munchkin man, watching the dragon boy fall to his fate. Hans feels horrible having done nothing about it.

“Well, that’s one problem taken care of.” the duke of Weselton retreated to the highly guarded walls of the palace, smiling wickedly.

The tribe chief was a goner.

Handling the Snow Queen—someone of great power, someone who can easily flick him off with her magic and summon storms—shouldn’t be a problem.

He’s the _Dragon Warrior_. There was no reason to be afraid. Nothing a good talk couldn’t fix.

Then again, Hiccup wanted to come out of this _alive_ and _not_ frozen to death.

Truth be told, Hiccup was scared.

He was treated like a hero—he was a _somebody_ for once. But that didn’t mean he liked it.

The path to the mountain was long, and the severe weather only made it twice as hard flying through. His mask wasn’t enough to block the snow that mercilessly came at them, occasionally tipping Toothless, causing them to lose direction.

He maybe an experienced rider—being the first one in their village to ever tame and ride a dragon—but he’d never seen a storm quite so strong. Sure, he had dealt with terrible winds and somehow survived a blizzard, but this one, however, was different.

Situated in between the mountain was a _palace_ made out of _ice_.

Looming over the enormous structure were ominous clouds. “So this is where all that storm is from.”

“See that, yeah?” he pointed at the sound structure. Toothless followed his gaze and was shocked to see the castle. “We’re going in there.”

Toothless glanced back at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Come on, bud. It would be over in a minute. I promise.”

Hesitantly, the dragon swerved into the direction of the castle.

His breath becomes shorter and shorter, his fingers cold to its tips. “ _Get a grip_ , Hiccup.”

The duo lands on the snow right next to the stairs. Hiccup couldn’t stop himself from gawking at it.

Climbing out of his saddle, he walked towards the stairs for a closer look. He examined the texture of the banister, admiring the way it was perfectly carved.

“ _Beautiful_.” he whispers and stared in awe, taking in the work of art that stood before him.

She can’t be _that_ bad.

(Can she?)

Yes, someone who almost froze a person to death can’t be that bad. She very nearly killed him on their last encounter while on his way to the kingdom. Good news is, she’s the best ice sculptor there is. That’s a plus side, right?

“I’ve always looked forward to seeing the Queen again,” he began, “Maybe we’d exchange greetings and share thoughts about anything we could come up with.” he turned around to face Toothless.

“Yes, and we’d have plenty of hours and hours to ourselves. Nothing but talk about things who knows what and have a fucking tea party. Then what?” he raised his hands in the air, as if to signal defeat.

“Then we’d get to the point where I would try and convince her to stop the winter, and she would freeze me to death in her castle made of ice.” Toothless looked at him and saw a pessimist and not the optimistic Viking who made it this far. They could win on this one. It was simple, really.

First, he must warm up to her and get into small talks, tell her about the weather and everything. Ask her questions like: what were her likes and dislikes, what she would do and wouldn’t do when someone asks her to stop the winter that seemed to have completely covered the land—the winter that buried the majority of Berk under the unending onslaught of hail and snow.

Yes, it was simple.

On the bright side, he had dragons—he had Toothless. Fire can melt ice. Maybe he could use this figurative fire to melt his way through her frozen castle, and quite possibly, thaw her frozen heart and save everyone from this eternal winter just like that.

Just like that.

No, he’ll just bullshit his way through—

Interrupting him from his thoughts, Toothless nudged him, as if to tell him to hurry up. First thing he does was discard the sword into the heaps of snow. The Viking then steeled himself, skipping a few steps to reach the door.

 _It was now or never_.

Raising his fist to knock on the solid ice, the great doors groaned open by themselves. He prepared himself for the worst. This would be his most nerve-wracking experience yet.

Confronting a queen? Someone of high power? The Snow Queen at that? His eyes waited in anticipation, waiting for someone who never came. This shouldn’t be bad, he’d convince himself.

“I guess I’ll just let myself in,” he casually slips right in without actually dying. Toothless has a hard time fitting through the tiny entrance. “No, no. You wait here for a bit.”

Walking into the palace made him feel so small. The temperature was just right for him, for someone who lived on an island where it snowed for nine months.

Hiccup liked to believe in magic. Which is odd, despite the fact that he’d seen magic first hand and still denies its very existence. But there has to be an explanation to all this, to put a stop to this winter and save his people from eventual famish. They can’t last in the cold any longer, and he needed this to end.

Hiccup resumes walking. “Anybody home?”

The ground shakes underneath him, making him lose balance. He rolls to the side to safety as lethal spikes shot up from where he’d previously been.

A woman emerges from the balcony, wearing a scowl, disappointed that she’d missed. “Stop right there.”

Recovering from his fall, narrowly avoiding an icicle that nearly impaled him, Hiccup panted. “I’d appreciate it if you gave me a little warning!”

“I don’t think a warning would be necessary,” she replied, eyeing him with contempt. “Who are you and what are you doing in my castle?”

What had he done to provoke her? He may have gone in without her permission, but that’s because no one was answering! “I’m your _guest_. You’re not supposed to _murder_ your guests the second you see them!”

“I treat my guests however way I please,” her palm was glowing, ebbing with power. She remained in her stance, even if she knew she had him cornered. “And you are no guest of mine. You must leave _now_ , intruder.”

“That’s not a very nice way to talk to someone you only met,” he lectured, earning a sour look from her. “Elsa, the Queen of snow and ice?”

“That’s _Queen_ Elsa to you,” she snapped. “You still haven’t answered my question. Are you trying my patience?”

The chief righted himself up; dusting his leather top and straightened his back. “Sorry, but what was the question again? Could you repeat that for me?”

From the balcony, the Ice Queen’s patience was wearing thin. “Who are you and why are you here in _my_ kingdom? Who sent you here?”

Hesitantly, Hiccup answered. “...I was forced into it, okay?”

“Do you not have a choice?”

“I couldn’t refuse.”

“ _Coward_ ,” Elsa clenched her fists. “You always have a choice.”

“Who’s the bigger coward here? Who ran all the way to the mountains to shut herself out and build a kingdom of her own?” Hiccup didn’t care if it’s a sensitive topic. It was the truth. “A lonely kingdom, I might add.”

Taken back by what he’d said, she retorted. “Why would _you_ care?”

“I had to talk to you anyway.”

“I made my choice. I did what I wanted to do for so long.”

Hiccup sat himself on the fountain in the middle. “And why?”

“I’ve had enough of living up to people’s expectations and being told what to do.” sighed Elsa.

“You and I both.”

They were both bound to their own shackles, to their own problems. Elsa thought they weren’t so different after all.

For a brief moment, it was silent. The chief then smiled. “Hiccup.”

Elsa arched a brow. “Excuse me? How dare you mock me?” Does he think he could sneak into her castle, not take her seriously and get away with it that easily?

“The name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Stoic the Vast, chief of Berk,” he breathed, offering her a soft smile. “And no, I’m not trying to piss you off. It’s a real name— _my_ name.”

Upon close inspection, he wasn’t as buff or as stoic. “You don’t look horrendous to me.”

“I get that a lot,” the chief bashfully scratches the back of his neck. His brain belatedly registered the words she just said, and stared at her in complete shock. “Wait, what?”

With a smirk, she replied. “You heard me.”

“So I don’t look that bad to you?”

“Not at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this 'book' i was talking about should be up soon. (i just haven't revised the third chapter.)
> 
> stay safe!


	5. when the night is long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the two wound up getting stuck with each other was a long one. It involved him, a tower, a bolt in the leg, and the rest was history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn’t stop thinking about sven (pewd’s minecraft dog) whenever i write sven and i think it’s cute
> 
> but the plot isn’t cute, so

Heavy were his legs as he drags them across the knee-deep snow. He walks with a limp, each step even more unbearable than the last. His mouth and throat were dry, and it didn’t help that any source of water had solidified into ice.

The number of hours he was awake was significantly longer than when he was asleep. He’d been used to it, sure, but that only meant tiring himself out and becoming vulnerable. That, and his wounds won’t be healing anytime soon. They needed their much deserved rest, but considering their circumstances, it would have to wait.

Bloodshot eyes searched the perimeter for stragglers and thieves, to see if there were any who bothered to follow them. It was unlikely that someone would enter in the middle of the wasteland, but it wasn’t impossible. Not that they had something of value in their possession, other than his frail companion who had a pretty face worth a pretty penny. Though, slave traders tend to avoid this path, which easily crosses them off the list. Humans should be the least of his worries. Fending off a pack of wolves with only the two of them _could_ cost their lives, both starving and half to death from the cold.

How the two wound up getting stuck with each other was a _long_ story. It involved him, a tower, a bolt in the leg, and the rest was history. Oh, and there’s also the woman who shot him.

Looking back—literally—he finds her looking at him in urgency. She was lying on the mound of wool he collected, wrapped in his scraps of cloth. He spared her a glance before returning to his reindeer, completely ignoring her. Kristoff had neither the luxury nor the time to entertain her questions. And so, he continues to lead the way on foot, supporting Sven before he could collapse. The poor thing was exhausted from hunger and their non-stop march for the mountains.

Shakily, his passenger pushes herself to raise her head, barely having the strength to even sit upright. Lips, pale and cracked, moved to speak.

“I heard something…” warned the girl hidden in the back of his sled, her voice barely above a whisper. The man halts completely. Slowly, she lifts the hood that covers her face to see for herself.

There wasn’t anything to make out of in the vicinity, except for the unending emptiness that the landscape had to offer. He double checked it, and again, there was nothing. The look of disbelief on Kristoff made her scowl. She was _positive_ she heard something, which was dangerously close. Rapunzel always had this tiny feeling that they were being watched.

He closed his eyes to block off the rest of his senses and listened. Kristoff—despite his sharp hearing—could not pick up on any sound. Not a single breath, nor the slightest breaking of a twig.

It was… quiet. Uncannily quiet. The kind that was enough to fool someone for a minute, enough to convince them they were _truly_ alone. Kristoff knew better than to fall for any of it and decided that this wasn’t an ideal place to linger. “We better move faster, Sven. It’s already dusk.”

The two began to notice the faint pink of a sunset, and from the distance, a perfect spot to stay the night. Kristoff leads them into a forest.

A little off their course, and _way_ behind their schedule, the group collectively decides it was best to take a break, and spend the night _actually_ sleeping. Kristoff gathered wood for their fire, and Rapunzel had to make do with what little food they had left all while remaining in the sled.

She lifts the trunk’s lid, making sure their supplies were all accounted for. Kristoff may have underestimated the length of their journey, having packed good enough for a week. She could only hope they could pass a market nearby. Hope was a strong word. Kristoff’s homeland happened to be _Arendelle_.

From what she heard, Arendelle was cursed to have permanent winters, placed upon them by the very Queen herself. She never knew there were other magical beings like Rapunzel, and the fact that she was in the infamous kingdom doomed to an eternity of suffering never ceased to _amaze_ her. And at the same time, she feels sorry for the souls who find themselves in that horrible predicament. Food was probably scarce, but she remains hopeful nonetheless.

The sound of approaching footsteps made her shut the trunk’s lid and snap her head in the direction where she heard it. Her heart raced with anxiety as she curled into a ball with her arms over her head.

Rapunzel squeezed her eyes shut, wishing, _praying_ for it to go away and leave her alone.

Then, it stops.

“If we get lucky, we might actually get there in time—”

The all too familiar voice informed her. To her relief, it was only Kristoff, with a pile of sticks and twigs in his arms. The man had this look of concern on his face as he waited for her to relax.

“O-Oh, you’re back,” she offers him a smile of relief, which he finds weird. He still wasn’t used to the (all types of) attention she gave him. “You’re not being followed, are you?”

“I think so.”

“I-Is it safe to come out?”

Kristoff nodded before setting down the pile he collected.

Cautiously, the girl peaked around to check and make sure it was. Once the two were out of sight, Rapunzel hopped off her seat, her oversized boots landing on nothing but snow.

The pair then unloaded their supplies for the night. Kristoff tended to the fire and made something to sit on, leaving Rapunzel with the cooking. Sven rests.

Rapunzel tucks away a brown lock, taking out the ladle to taste her soup. Kristoff sits opposite of her, done with their makeshift camp as Sven settles behind him.

“It’s ready.” she announced, handing out their shares.

Everyone had a role, something she clung onto for the sake of her sanity. Paranoia was consuming her, and things started to stop making sense.

Escaping out of the tower the _second_ time wasn’t easy. She never knew she could ever be found, up until she shot a bolt through Kristoff’s leg. When Kristoff left, she realized she was given another chance out of there. It took her a huge amount of courage to look past the rotting corpse of what used to be her friend. The unsightly image made her want to crawl back into her prison of lies and forget completely.

She could’ve lived the rest of her life ignorant to the world outside and shove the bad things in the back of her head; carry on as if nothing happened. But that would mean denying Eugene ever existed, and every single one of her memories of him would be erased. The first and only person who made her dream a reality—gone forever. Retreating to the confines of her tower would mean he _died_ in vain, trying to free her from her manipulative impostor of a mother.

So, she cuts her hair. She searched for a way out, and headed north, to where Kristoff said he was going.

To her luck, the mountain man picked her up along the way. She was shaking and tired when he first saw the poor girl after he left; having had small hours of sleep for a couple of days. Wandering alone in the woods was bad enough.

Rapunzel paused, and lowered her bowl. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have stood a chance on her own. She wouldn’t be there sitting under the stars, eating warm soup. She _owed_ a lot to him.

“How’s your leg?”

Kristoff was emptying his bowl and nearly choked. This caught his attention, and only then did he register the stinging every time he moved. He never understood why she kept asking. Maybe she was worried; guilty that she was responsible for injuring him. He had long forgotten about the incident, and may have forgiven her for the horrible, horrible things she did. Besides, she made up for it by cleaning it and changing the bandage. So why was she still worked up about it? Kristoff was never good with people, so he doesn’t know and didn’t care to know.

“Good, I think.” he lied with a straight face. It hurt as _hell_ , and the only thing that distracts him from the pain was the fact that they would absolutely die if they didn’t get to the mountains. His home—how he missed it. He often asked himself: why did he leave in the first place?

The ice business hasn’t been doing great lately, considering the people no longer had the need for ice this summer. His home recently turned into a frozen wasteland. Everything and the only person he had ever loved perished in the cold. He had no reason to stay there. So Kristoff decided to board the ship to the next best kingdom there is—Corona.

Why there? It’s the only place the eternal winter hasn’t reached yet. The further north they got, the more Rapunzel was starting to see why refugees came flooding into their kingdom in the middle of the summer season. Up north, she was starting to see less and less pasture; trees disappear and there’s snow for miles away.

Arendelle was the least of her worries. She had way too many things going on in her head and was too busy to think about it. “I haven’t done this before. Running away, abandoning my mother, and probably never coming back. I mean, I already did the first two parts.”

“There’s a first to everything,” Kristoff holds his hands against the fire, hardly feeling its warmth. “Like getting shot by a _complete_ stranger.”

Strangers. That’s how they started out—two unrelated souls who happened upon each other. The story was so familiar to her and she can’t help but voice it out. “To be honest, you’re not the first stranger I met.”

“You haven’t exactly told me about that yet.” it’s not like he was interested in hearing it, but hey, he was doing the best he could to provide her some kind of comfort. Last time he opened up to a human was _ages_ ago, having lost her over a stupid curse. And the woman sitting before him suffers a similar fate.

“I’d rather not…” she responded weakly, feeling her stomach drop as she was reminded of the body sticking out in plain daylight. A proper burial should have been in order, but too many things happened (she does plan on going back, though).

Kristoff could see a person through their eyes, and he knew well enough if they had been through a lot. Pain can’t be measured or even compared to the pain of others, as we feel it all the same. There were no words to describe losing a loved one, and it shows through the person’s eyes. He found the very same expression on her face. She saw Eugene, _dead_ , and she suffered alone in silence.

While she didn’t watch him die in front of her very eyes, she lost someone. Kristoff guessed he understands. The memory was still fresh to her after all. And that makes them the same.

“—Frankly, you aren’t either.”

Rapunzel smiled. And Eugene mirrored back a smile, the one she was so fond of. “He used to call me Blondie, and names, and…”

_Eugene—_

She bites down hard on her cracked lips at the thought of him. The poor girl was shaking, both from hunger and the cold. They were in the middle of nowhere, ice-cold, low on supplies and they could barely pull through the next day.

Words failed to form in her head. A sob escapes her throat.

Only then did she notice the tears rolling off her eyes.

“You really don’t have to talk if you don’t want to,” Kristoff suggested, feeling the strain she was putting on herself. “It’s dark. Let’s continue tomorrow.”

Talking made his head hurt, and having less of it was more bearable. He needed some quiet time.

“I just hope Arendelle has some answers.”

Once again, they were strangers that night; minding their own business as they slept separately—Kristoff with Sven, and she slept in the sleigh.

The night was quiet; nothing could be heard for miles and miles away.

It was better if it stayed that way, Kristoff thought.

* * *

The silence didn’t last for long.

(Much to Kristoff’s dismay.)

Turns out, Rapunzel wasn’t just hearing things.

With her eyes closed, she hears it again. _Something_ was there, inches away from her face. It was too real for it to be a dream. There was _something_ breathing down her neck, it was hot, and—

 _It growled_.

Rapunzel was too afraid to open her eyes. Her heart was _racing_. She tried controlling her panicked breaths, as the only thing on her mind was screaming for help.

But she knew she had to face reality at some point. And when the girl does, she finds a wolf’s head hovering over her.

_Kristoff— Where was Kristoff?!_

When Rapunzel slightly turned her head to the side, from the corner of her eye, she found Kristoff already on his feet. It so happened that he didn’t have a vicious predator looming over him and he had every chance to leave. The thing is, he didn’t.

“ _Don’t move_ ,” he mouthed to her. He slowly bent over to scoop a decent amount of snow, compressing it into a ball.

And Kristoff does the stupidest thing he could think of in his entire twenty years of existence.

He lobbed the snowball square in its face, perfectly missing its paw. He would’ve been proud by the accuracy of his aim, if they weren’t already faced with death. The plan he had in mind was to scare it away. All it did was piss the canine off, which wasn’t his intention. But he went along with it.

“That’s right! Over here!” Kristoff started yelling and shouting. The noise he was making was enough to catch its attention.

Its eyes were trained on him now. The wolf appeared famished; its fangs show through his watering mouth, hungrier and more determined than ever before. Another victim to the hunger and death which winter brought along with it.

The lone wolf wasn’t focused on her anymore, allowing her to think of a way out. It walks right past her, slowly going for Kristoff. Two meals presented themselves before it, and it simply wouldn’t let this opportunity slip its grasp.

Kristoff did what he could to distract it. He seemed to have done the trick, as it ignored Rapunzel completely. “When he’s close to me, back away _slowly._ ”

“Can’t we run?” she rolled to her side and pushed herself up to stand. It was a wonder how she managed to get up after her close encounter with it. Her arms were literally _shaking._

“We won’t be fast enough. And they like their prey running, so, hard pass.”

“What do we do?!”

“Make some noise! Throw anything but not _at_ him!”

Rapunzel was quick to get on her feet, and looked for something to chuck at it. The next thing she did was go for the sled and retrieve the satchel containing some of their supplies. She slung the strap over her and waited in the background.

“Yeah, come at me! You big, stupid—”

It lunged for his legs, which he narrowly avoided. Though, it was too early to be cocky about it.

 _Seconds_.

 _Three_ seconds could literally mean the difference between life and death.

Under five seconds, it tried to go for his arm this time. He dodged just in the right moment, its fangs grazing his arm. His skin was torn right open, even through his thick sleeve, leaving a deep cut. Had he not turned in that second, his arm would have been completely mauled off.

For its third attempt, it hurled itself towards him. His head then hit something _hard._ Next thing he knew, he was pinned to the boulder. Something warm trickled down his head, and he started to see stars.

As Rapunzel was about to get close, she stopped as she could do nothing but watch.

The wolf tried again. And finally, its fangs sank into sweet, sweet flesh.

Sven happened to be in the way.

Kristoff’s senses had numbed; his heart dropped down to his stomach. The reindeer cried and wailed in complete _pain._

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

By the time Rapunzel safely crossed the distance between them, Kristoff stiffened. His gaze was locked intently in the direction she came from. She glanced back to see Sven being bitten over and over as he tried to fight back by dragging the wolf with him. In horror, she turned her head away to stifle a scream, only to see Kristoff _bleeding._

The look of fear was plastered on her face. Eugene’s pained expression plays before her eyes as he cradled his stab wound.

Things were happening too fast; he didn’t have a second to react. The only thing he managed was helplessly calling out for his name. “ _Sven! No!_ ”

“We _need_ to go!”

“But Sven’s— Sven’s going to _die—_!”

“He did that to save you!” With all the strength she didn’t know she had, Rapunzel pushed him in the opposite direction. “The least you could do is _live—_ for him!”

She grabbed him by the arm, pulled him up, to lead him further into the blurry mist of the forest.

Sven’s figure started becoming smaller and smaller as he led the wolf away.

Kristoff couldn’t see anymore through his tears mixed with blood and snow.

Again, it was quiet.

The two were finally left alone, wandering aimlessly into the thick of the woods.

The sky was singing in colors, offering some sort of solace and an overwhelming calm to those below. She saw the lights again, but this time, they were… different. In a good way, of course.

If it weren’t for the events earlier, she would have appreciated the magical dancing lights. If only her companion wasn’t on the brink of death.

Each step was becoming heavier, and Kristoff’s eyes were closing.The air was thinner, and the lack of it made her lightheaded. It became increasingly difficult for Rapunzel to carry him, and the winds were getting stronger. That, and Kristoff was starting to develop a fever.

“Let’s take a break,” she decided, setting him down to lean on the trunk of the tree. She could feel his weight off her, and finally, she could _breathe_. But this wasn’t the time, and they most certainly had little of it left.

Rapunzel kneels beside him, feeling his forehead to check his temperature. It burned the back of her hand, but the bleeding on his head stopped. She checks the contents of the satchel, digging for any bandage and herbs.

“Let me see your wounds—”

“I should be fine— _Agh!”_

“Please, you might actually _die_ if you won’t let me treat it,” demanded Rapunzel, the first time she had ever been assertive after a couple of weeks.

Kristoff guessed he had no choice, especially not in this state. Reluctantly, he held out his arm for her to check and cleanse his wounds. The herbs worked wonders. It proved effective in numbing him completely. Or had he lost that much blood?

“…How’re you feeling?”

“Cold…” he mumbled incoherently, that Rapunzel wasn’t sure what he was saying.

“Yeah, big guy. Don’t go into the light yet, okay?” she jokingly said, half hoping that he wouldn’t.

Kristoff doesn’t respond to this. Or maybe he’s tired and couldn’t hear her properly anymore.

This leaves her with her thoughts as she joins beside him on the snowy ground. Half an hour in, he would bring up past conversations they’ve had.

“If it’s answers you’re looking for… the Northuldra have it. And yeah, that’s what they call themselves…”

“You told me already.”

Their exchanges made less sense as the hours went by. She didn’t know what she could make out of his words.

By the third hour, Kristoff started talking on his own.

She covered her ears, wanting to block him out. She wanted to _rest_ while it was still dark, so they could have the energy to move in the morning. But he goes on, repeating a girl’s name over and over.

Weakly reaching out for her pale hand, without looking at anything in particular, he lets out a small, pained breath. “I’ll protect you… I won’t let anyone hurt you, Anna…”

When she was about to hold his hand, it dropped limp. She hesitantly tried to reach out again, but he opened his lips one last time.

“Anna… I…”

His words were followed by silence, his eyes staring lifelessly into the sky. Rapunzel sits there in shock, unable to move.

Now, she was truly alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow that was so long to write (took me weeks with breaks in between) really couldn’t get them to talk in character, and i still can’t decide who gets to die first (???)
> 
> like the previous chapters, this is kind of a developing/scrapped plot for a standalone fic. think of it as an excerpt, or a pilot/pitch that never made it into production? (did i word it right?)
> 
> i used to have plans on continuing this, or write the prequel (christ, this isn’t a movie, geez) buuuuut eh.
> 
> WASH YOUR HANDS AND WEAR MASKS
> 
> see you next update~


	6. cold winds are calling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup had been expecting a mob of angry adults marching their way to possibly kill him.
> 
> Turns out, it was worse than he thought. It’s his biggest fear realized.
> 
> _A teenager._
> 
> “Shit—”

“I think it’s this way, bud, I could _feel_ it this time!”

Hiccup declared self-assuredly, for what Toothless could guess had been the fifth time. The Night Fury scoffed.

“I _swear_ on Odin’s beard, Tooth—”

The dragon flicked his ear and hit him right in the face mid-air. And this (effectively) shuts him up.

He and Toothless had been flying over the rolling grasslands for more than an hour now—more than he could care to count—going on in endless circles around the snowy mountains. Hiccup made sure to stay clear of the settlements. They’ve attracted the attention of a number of mainlanders, and they most definitely were not given a warm welcome. Do arrows and spears and flying axes count?

Even with Toothless out of sight, there had been a handful who chased him out the moment they recognised the garments of a warrior-pirate. The lack of weapons _should_ have made it convincing to pass him off as another wandering traveller. Maybe it’s the way he was dressed in full armor, complete with his metal prosthetic which automatically made him a threat in their eyes.

Resentful looks were sent his way each time he arrived in the next village. He considers himself lucky they haven’t killed him already, with the amount of malice and hatred on their faces which they didn’t try so hard to hide. Though, he could understand the reason behind why they didn’t receive him with open arms. His tribe hadn’t been on good terms with a lot of people, for centuries of bad history they had with the English. Just Viking things, he guessed.

Left and right, he’d been denied goods and service as merchants and vendors turned him away, despite having bags of coins to pay for it. He wasn’t used to the cold treatment he was getting, with everyone shunning him before he could utter a single word.

Let’s just say Hiccup wasn’t popular among the locals, and this didn’t make things any easier for him. Not that he minds, but they were running terribly low on fish, and the rivers began to freeze over. He had to start from scratch—find his catch to then gather herbs and spices for, and cook them in time before the oversized lizard can consider _eating_ him alive. It _was_ his last resort, if worse comes to worse. Hiccup was fully aware of this, when one night his starved dragon looked at him as if he _was_ the main course.

Things haven’t changed between them ( _yet_ ). Toothless hasn’t made any attempts at ripping him apart, but he _does_ catch the reptile drooling at the sight of him. Hiccup sees to it he doesn’t burn out, as he was determined to stay alive for as long as he possibly could. So he decided to retire for the day, even with very little leads to their search. Still no signs of his companions or anything else besides the long winding hills and a herd of grazing sheep in the distance.

Pine and birch trees alike dance and sway to the rhythms of the wind, its withering leaves dappled in golden sunlight. Warmth was spread over the vast expanse of greens before it vanishes with the sun as it dips into the horizon.

Hiccup enjoys these small hours of peace, making him forget the god-awful reality he’s in. No one was there to let him know he’s unwanted, where he’s left alone to appreciate the little things nature had to offer. He takes his time to take it all in. It was almost amazing, for Hiccup that is. Toothless was disinterested in the landscape entirely. While he marvels at its beauty and was completely oblivious to everything else, Toothless takes this chance to piss him off.

Still mounted on his saddle, he doesn’t give his rider a second to get off when he rolled onto his back. This caught Hiccup in a surprise. He deserves it, he supposed.

“Yeah, saw that coming. You got me.” he struggled to crawl out underneath the Night Fury’s crushing weight. He somehow slipped free with his limbs and bones intact. He’ll make sure to check it again after he secures their makeshift camp, then he’ll get Toothless to blast them a fire.

Thankfully, he’s in a safer and a much secluded place. (For the time being.) It’s perfect for when he and Toothless need to hide from the rest of the world. He just wished his friends were there with him.

A part of him wanted to believe they survived whatever it was that scattered them to places they’ve never been. They could be out there, starving and cold as he was, or the exact opposite of his current situation. Hiccup _prayed_ to the gods they weren’t hurt, or lost, or—

 _Wait_. What was he all worried about? They were grown-ass _adults_. They’re seasoned warriors who could handle themselves and probably deal with whatever comes in their way head-on. His friends and their dragons could probably manage and hold up on their own—was what he liked to tell himself. He _can_ trust them with their lives.

(Can he?)

If anything, he should be focused on his own problems and think about himself first. He better start with their food shortage. Or he’ll be served up next.

The forest glade they landed in provided them an abundance of cover; fruits flowering on every brush they see. The beginnings of hoarfrost form on each foliage, and fallen maples float over the shrinking stream. It’s the ideal spot to stay the night as they’re surrounded by free food. “Now all that’s left is to—”

A low rumbling sound reached his ears, and Hiccup made haste. Not wanting to become the appetizer, he unloads the fish basket they collected from the river earlier, spilling out a small pile for his scaly companion. The two shared a look.

“ _And_ we’re having fish for dinner,” he said, finding himself situated besides a body of water, in case they run out of fish. “How do you want your fish? Raw or cooked?”

Toothless’ stomach grumbled in response. He didn’t have the patience to wait for his meal when it’s sitting right there in front of him. Without a second thought, the starved reptile helps itself to the heaps of brown trout, sparing him little. “Raw it is.”

He wasn’t hungry anyways. (That was a lie, of course.) He just hoped it was enough to fill the Night Fury’s belly.

In the first hours of the night, the winds changed. It slaps him full in the face with a cool sting, leaving this numbness in his cheeks. Then, it’s gone. It’s as if time itself had stopped. Intricate pieces of snow spiral from the heavens as they very slowly make their descent, seemingly suspended in the frozen air.

The milk-light of the moon bathed the clearing in a soft, muffled glow. Its silk tendrils gleamed and shined upon every surface it could find. Hiccup makes use of this light, unfurling his ever-expanding map to sketch the outlines of the land from memory. The Viking perched himself on one of the tall boulders to get a better view of the forest.

He then peels a sheet from a compartment in his suit, and produces a pencil. Vague shapes filled the parchment, along with silly caricatures of the villagers. He laughs a little at the ugly imitations of themselves, and just as he was about to add horns and fangs, he loses his grip on his pencil.

By instinct, he goes off his post to pick it up, but something tells him otherwise. Hiccup raised his gaze to see a ghostly light at the foot of the tree. He noticed the small flame burning a bright blue as it lingers there. It was hard to miss it, in the inky darkness of the night. Charmed and curious by its existence, he tries to follow them as they lead him further into the mouth of the forest.

He then halts completely when he feels a pair of eyes watching his every movement. Carefully, he bends over to retrieve the item from the mossy ground.

Footsteps padded closer.

There was rustling in the dark, and a hooded figure made itself known.

Finally finished with his meal, Toothless’ ears perked up in distress. Unbeknownst to his rider, he picks up on a _very_ specific scent. “So you heard it too?”

It slowly recedes into the woods once it realized they see it, and they soon lose sight of it.

“That was close.” Hiccup exhaled in relief. An attack was the last thing he needed that night. And so, he turns around to retire to his improvised cot. “C’mon, bud. We better get some shut eye.”

He never managed to find his way there, and his chin painfully connecting with the floor underneath him.

Gummy jaws yanked at his prosthetic leg, causing him to lose balance. He falls hard on his bum, and he felt the pain shoot up his spine. A groan came from him as he righted himself up, rubbing his hurt ass cheeks. “What was that for you stupid—”

The moment Hiccup draws closer, the winged reptile lifts him off his feet and goes into a sprint. Before he could even protest, his dragon weaves them through the twists and turns of the forest. The chieftain adjusts himself in time to mount the saddle, and he holds onto Toothless as if his life depended on it. “Whoa, easy there, bud!”

Hiccup couldn’t begin to comprehend _why_ Toothless started darting through the forest to track down their stalker, bringing _him_ along for the ride. Or maybe he saw the trails of light that’s leading them to a fire nearby.

Soon, they were already within the range of a _camp_ , just as the Night Fury had intended.

“Oh, this is bad,” he muttered to himself as Toothless wasn’t slowing down at any rate. “This is _really really_ bad.”

“Stop! You’ll get us killed!” he warned, but his dragon paid him no heed.

From the looks of it, the Night Fury wasn’t planning to stop as they were now going full speed ahead. The Viking pulled the saddle and steered them into a different direction, resulting in multiple branches swatting at his face. _“Oh gods!”_

“Who’s ther’!?” a startled voice hollered.

Hiccup had been expecting a mob of angry adults marching their way to possibly kill him.

Turns out, it was worse than he thought. It’s his biggest fear realized.

_A teenager._

“ _Shit—_ ”

Beyond the foliage, Hiccup could already see the young lady rise from her seat, reaching for her bow and quiver. The Viking started pulling at the saddle, trying his best to keep him from going any closer to the fire. He and Toothless had rammed right into the nearest tree, which sent him rolling on his belly.

“Show ye’ self, ya coward!”

“I _will,_ just give me a minute!” he replied, springing to his feet. The girl with bright red hair arched a brow at his direction, gripping her bow nonetheless.

True to his words, the stranger reveals himself… sat on the back of the _dragon._

Panic kicks in, and she strings her arrow to aim the projectile at its head.

The arrow was released, the sharp tip lodging itself into the tree where Hiccup’s head would have been if he hadn’t veered to his left. This prompts him to fall off his seat. “Ge’ away from tha’ thing!”

“It’s fine! He’s a friend, so could you please put your bow away—” Hiccup was cut off by yet another arrow. It missed him by half an inch while it was meant for someone else. (Or was it?)

That’s where she drew the line. Toothless lunged at her, pinning her down with its weight. “Toothless, don’t—!”

“It has a _name_?!”

“Yes! He _does_!”

_“No, no, no—!”_

Helplessly, the girl squirmed as it inspected her. She tries to pathetically wriggle out of its grasps like a worm, to no avail.

“Get off her! You’re being rude!”

The overgrown lizard ignored him completely, licking at the girl’s face like a dog would to its owner. One could argue it’s an endearing gesture, but one wouldn’t expect it from a _dragon_. To his horror, the girl _screamed._ “Quit it! Yer coverin’ me in yer spit!”

Well, that’s going to leave a (permanent) mark.

Alas, Toothless did not find what he was looking for on her person. He made a noise of disappoinment, snorting at her. She had no roasted trout on her—he’d been _deceived!_

“Oh gods, you didn’t have to do _that,”_ Hiccup whined in embarrassment, now walking up to the two, pushing the dragon to the side. The winged reptile rolled his eyes at his rider. “I’m sorry if he scared you.”

In answer, she responds with a question. “Alright…?”

He allows her a few minutes to get up, to let things sink in and slowly come into terms with the fact that dragons _existed._

“I’m Hiccup by the way. And that over there is Toothless.” he told her with a rather awkward tone, matching with a stupid smile on his face. The corners of her mouth tried to smile as well, her lips twitching and shaking.

...What happened just now?

“... _Ugh.”_ the girl shuddered, still moist from the saliva which stuck to her body. “...A pleasure te’ meet ye.”

Said girl made a face of disgust as she tried to wipe away at the slobber with the sleeve of her dress. It doesn’t come off _at all._

“Trust me, it’s going to take a while to wash it off.” he informs her belatedly, producing a cloth for her to use. She accepts it, scrubbing furiously at her face.

“Tha’ was _nasty.”_

From the corner of his eye, Hiccup found a dark approaching silhouette of what he guessed belonged to a _bear_. Whether it happened to be passing by in the middle of the winter, or there for its last meal, he didn’t care. He doesn’t waste another second as he rips his flaming sword out of its sheathe to point at it.

Toothless doesn’t react, much to his surprise. What in Hel was he doing? Hiccup watched as his scaly friend hobbled off, completely unbothered by the fact that there’s a _live bear_ in front of them.

The archer picks up on his unease, introducing herself and her companion. She gestures him to lower his weapon in a rather calm manner, to which he reluctantly complies.

Again, was anyone not seeing this? A bear with a stupidly intelligent face as confused as he was, stands poorly hidden behind a naked brush.

“The name’s Merida. An’ tha’s me mum.”

A pause. A rather _long_ one.

Slowly, his brain took the time to process what she just said. He looked dumbfounded. “Your… what now?”

“Long sto’ry,” she explained briefly. Merida didn’t want to go over the bits and details, and he didn’t need to know the rest. “It’s a dumb spell, an’ I’m tryin’ te’ find a way te’ undo it.”

“A spell? _Right—”_

“Magic is as real as it ca’n get ‘round these parts.”

A look of disbelief settled on Hiccup’s face, with her words only adding up to his confusion.

Merida sets down her bow next to the rock where she previously sat, picks up a twig and proceeds to poke at the skewered lamb meat. She turns it over in time before it could burn, then she hears the growling of a stomach.

“...That wasn’t me.”

“Sure it ain’t. Wan’t some lamb then?” Merida offered. Hiccup greatly appreciates the kind gesture, and for once feels like he isn’t a lowlife. “We wouldn’t mind havin’ extra company.”

“ _Yes_ please—” just as the Viking could claim his share, his dragon takes it all for himself. _“_ _Toothless!”_

Before he had another second, the Night Fury _gags,_ making a face as if it’s the worst thing in the world. He made it abundantly clear by hurling it out the same way he ate it.

Ah, fu—

“It doesn’t… like it?”

“Sorry. He’s not a big fan of lamb.”

“No, it’s fin’,” Merida goes over to her basket to grab another trout; forcefully impaling it with the stick to heat it over the fire. Though, she looked somewhat relieved. “I tho’ it had a taste fo’ humans. So wha’ _do_ ya feed ‘im?”

“Funny thing. About that, well...” Hiccup makes sure not to include the fact that Toothless _did_ try to take a bite out of him a couple of days ago. He does try not to sound too demanding about the food. “He’s a Night Fury, so his diet consists of beef, crab, and sometimes honeycomb. Fish is fine.”

“Ah’ ther’ others like ‘im?”

“He’s the last of his kind. There are other dragons, though,” he replied, a tinge of sadness in his voice. “By any chance, have you seen other giant flying reptiles?”

“No, no’ really.”

Hiccup’s shoulders slumped and his gaze dropped to the floor. Still, he clings unto the little hope he had that they were alive somehow, somewhere. Settling himself on a rock opposite of her, he dusted and brushed off the twigs tangled in his hair. He guessed they would have to wait.

“Trout?”

Toothless catches it with his open mouth, tearing at it with his bare teeth. She then hands Hiccup a plate of his own. “I tho’ Tooth ‘ere was goin’ te’ eat ya alive.”

“He _was_ this close to—” he doesn’t finish his sentence, biting down on his jaw as he regrets bringing it up. He then starts with her being the mysterious character from earlier. It didn’t take much to put two and two together. “I mean, not _really._ But thanks for checking up on us.”

“I wasn’t checkin’ on _anyone.”_ she stabs the fish again for emphasis. Her words weren’t clear to Hiccup, and he couldn’t exactly read her expression, with all the conflict showing on her face.

Metaphoric knives dig deeper into the back of his neck, and he could feel stabbing holes into his skull. It doesn’t fade or go away. He puts all the pieces together. She was originally meant to _kill_ him.

“You hesitated.”

“Wha’?”

“Your aim missed, if I remember correctly.”

This caught Merida off her guard. She may have underestimated him and his wits, having figured her out. “No use pretendin’ anymore then.”

Merida didn’t ask to become a hunter—a bounty hunter at that. She does try to spare lives so she could sleep soundly at night. But in this case, she feels like she made the error of letting him off alive.

“What gave it away?”

“Fer one, ye dress all weird.”

“Okay, last one. Why haven’t you shot me yet?”

Merida had every reason to hate him, and punish him in place of the invaders who pillaged and wronged her kingdom. His kind was to blame for all the mass genocide and starvation, stealing everything they could from her people. As they continue to threaten their undisturbed peace, she was forced to marry to secure a future for the next heir.

On top of all that, she ‘accidentally’ turned her mother into a bear. And she was only _sixteen_ when she runs away. Even if he had nothing to do with it, she could never say for sure. Still, she values life and she was in no position to take it from him.

“It’s no’ like I _have_ a chance against tha’ reptile of yers,” was her honest answer. “I’m no’ a monster either.”

She had a good point. But there _has_ to be another reason why she hasn’t taken him down when the opportunity presented itself.

“You had _every_ chance.”

Maybe he was wrong, but what if it had something to do with the...

“The wisps led me to ya,” she deduced as she chewed through the meat of the fish. “It _must_ mean somethin’, yeah?”

“Hold on— The wisps?”

“Neve’ heard of ‘em?” Merida wasn’t surprised he had no idea what she was talking about, and she’d gladly explain it to him. “They’re the flickerin’ lanterns guidin’ the lost and lead them to their fates.”

“You mean those floating... balls?” that didn’t come out right. He inwardly screams at himself for getting it wrong.

“Aye, they floa’t,” she confirmed, slightly rolling her eyes at his inappropriate description for it. “Bu’... the witch an’ the wisps tell me te’ go fer Attohalan. No’ really sure wha’ they meant by it.”

Attohalan. It had a familiarity to it, but he couldn’t pinpoint where he heard it before. “Is this Attohalan...?”

“North of ‘ere. The eye of the storm, if ya will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after watching vinland saga, my eyes were opened and my perspective changed about the vikings in general. just thought i’d put that out there.
> 
> (if you’re into anime and can stomach blood and gore, i recommend checking it out!)
> 
> and um, here’s another excerpt for another chapter i guess


	8. once upon a winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A part of her still believed she heard someone, somewhere. Her brain then clicks.
> 
> Would that mean her horse was now capable of… _speech?_
> 
> Once, in the middle of winter, Anna finds herself in the company of a peculiar boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another draft sitting way too long on the dusty shelves of unfinished works (which and is in dire need of reworking.)
> 
> anyhow, have yourselves some platonic jackanna!

“We’ve searched every nook and cranny!”

“You’re implying that she’s not here?”

“She isn’t. That’s what we were trying to say from the start.”

“How could you possibly lose the _princess_ of Arendelle?!”

The castle then descended into chaos shortly after discovering the empty room of said princess.

Once, in the middle of the winter, Princess Anna decided to wander alone into the woods (for no apparent reason.) Or perhaps, she lost sight of the rest of her group, which _may_ or may not be on purpose when she saw her older sister emerge out of the castle gates for the first time in a _year._

In a span of said year, Anna decided to visit the graves of her beloved mother and father, with her in the end of the convoy of horses. It was difficult to bring herself back there, but she managed, even without Elsa’s presence.

As they head back from her parents’ burial grounds, her mind automatically registered the figure and she held the reins tighter. She couldn’t describe the empty and aching feeling in her chest as she was reminded of the tragic news of the ship that never returned. Nothing could’ve prepared her for it. To make things worse, her only source of comfort, Elsa, refused her company once more.

The memory of it was painfully clear to her as she chanced a look at her face. If it were any other day, she would’ve gravitated to her side at this very second. Currently, she was still hurt by how Elsa did nothing but keep to herself more, busying and drowning herself in paperwork. She didn’t even attend when they first mourned the loss of their parents with the rest of the kingdom.

The travel across on horseback had been tremendously helpful, giving her more time to get out of their sight before her group could notice she was gone. She managed to effortlessly slip past the watchful eyes of her guards, as they curtsied to the older princess until she retired to her room.

And Anna grabbed this wonderful opportunity to leave.

In the distance, she could already see the lake had turned into ice. Anna finds it rather convenient, as it served as a means to cross faster into the mountains. 

Hooves sink into the snowbank when they reach the end of the frozen lake, as they cantered off to follow the setting horizon. Finally, she was allowed with some time to herself.

The winds grazed her face, sharp and cool on her skin, eliciting a shaky exhale from her lips. And out comes a cloud of her breath, each time her lungs heaved, each step she strayed further from her home.

“Goodness, it’s cold out here.”

_“It sure is.”_

“It’s so cold I couldn’t even feel my face!” the strawberry blonde chuckled softly and agreed with the disembodied voice. She gripped the reins tighter, the leather of her gloves making a small squeaking noise as she did. It does little to warm her, but it keeps her knuckles from numbing all over.

The voice doesn’t respond to this, however, and Anna doesn’t really mind its absence.

“Stupid paperwork. They’re the reason why she’s like this, and probably why she’s pushing me away again,” an exasperated sigh was forced through her lips. She could’ve been inside, sitting by the warmth of the fireplace, had it not been for her running off at the sight of her barely present sibling. “If only I could get her off that desk…”

 _“And I bet she even skips sleep for it!”_ a voice suddenly interrupts her from her rambling.

“Yeah. And she— How would _you_ know?”

There was a moment of stunned silence. The princess was certain she was alone. No one seemed to be trailing behind her, so it was safe to say that there weren’t any people around. Had the voice she’d been hearing weren’t just voices in her head? No, it can’t be.

A part of her still believed she heard someone, somewhere. Her brain then clicks.

Would that mean her _horse_ was now capable of… speech?

“You could… _talk,_ boy?” In response to Anna’s question, the stallion rolled its eyes at her. The discovery made her gasp in amused delight. She lowers the lantern to his eyes, as if she could catch him actually saying something intelligible. “And all this time, you never told me—!”

Something snapped from the top of the tree branches where she instantly spotted a boy in tattered brown clothing. He flailed his arms about, trying to keep his balance, only to gracelessly fall down face first into the freezing pile of snow.

Moving her hand to light the source of the noise, with the lantern tight in her grasp, Anna was absolutely _horrified_ to see when the body hit the freshly fallen heap. _Right in front of her._ The mound exploded in a flurry of fine powder flying in the air as a stick directly landed on his head. She was at a loss for words, her jaw hanging open a little at the unmoving form of a boy.

Was he… _dead?_

“You-You heard me… talk?” the odd looking youth asked, equally shocked once they locked gazes.

Rolling on his belly, not bothering to brush the snow off his cloak, his eyes widened at the sight of the rider this deep into the stretch of the forest.

Up close, the boy appears to be no younger than herself. The tips of the silvery spikes of his hair were muffled by the rich, warm pink of the sunset glow. He’s young for someone with stark-white hair. But, as she peered into his pair of blue eyes, she just felt he was… _different_ somehow.

He recovers quickly, sharing an odd look with her steed. Anna then lets her brain process what he just said.

Okay, so it wasn’t the horse. Animals _can’t_ possibly talk! Of course she _knew_ that.

_(Of course.)_

“Yeah… _yes_ I did. And why’re you all the way up there where I can’t see you?” the girl instinctively held her shoulder and rubbed them for warmth. She would’ve made a disgusted face but her cheeks had apparently stiffened, that a pout was the only movement her face could allow her with. “Were you spying on me, you… you _creep?!”_

“This is _my_ place, lady,” the pale boy said in his defense, patting next to the empty space beside him, seemingly unharmed by the fall. He didn’t seem to take her accusations lightly. “Wouldn’t that make _you_ the creep here?”

“Oh, don’t turn the tables on me!” Anna’s face contorted into something reminiscent of a scowl, though he couldn’t really tell. Her face seemed to have been limited to a pinched frown and her brows could only convey whatever emotion she wished to express. Oh, how she was brimming with annoyance, and his mere presence irritates her to no end.

“I’m just saying I live here,” he said as a-matter-of-factly. Though his words hardly made sense as they rolled out of his tongue. Here? In the middle of the woods? Just as Anna dubiously arched a brow at him, his face falters as if he wasn’t confident about the truth himself. “…Sort of.”

This then brings her to the next thing bothering her. “Then how do you know about my sister?”

The boy cluelessly tilts his head to the side, the question completely lost on him. “Your _sister?_ ”

The ginger raised her voice at him, her suspicion still very much there. “Don’t play dumb on me! You said she even skips sleep!”

“I mean, I hardly sleep myself—” actually, he did it to play along. And _God,_ was he bored out of his mind.

“ _Okay,_ mister stalker who doesn’t like to sleep. How do you explain yourself then?”

“It was just a hunch. I never knew she doesn’t sleep for—what you said— _paperwork,”_ he righted himself up to sit so he could fix his outlandish white hair. Letting the powdery snow flutter and shake from his hair, he shoots her a confused look. “What _is_ paperwork anyway?”

“Well, it’s where you sign documents and do a bunch of things like approving trades to help improve ties between kingdoms,” she explained shortly, pulling her cloak tighter around her. Her breath came out in small clouds of smoke, her nose flushing red as it became unbelievably colder the second he appeared. “Did that help answer your question?”

“I… guess so?” he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as his mind slowly digested her words. “You look cold.”

In turn, Anna asks him the same. He must have been _freezing_ to death by now. “What about yourself?”

“No, it’s alright. It doesn’t bother me all that much.” he answered in a rather casual manner, easily brushing it off as if it was nothing to him.

Clearly, he was lying. Anna herself personally didn’t like being out in a weather like this, especially when the night creeps in. There was no way he could last any longer in the unbearable winter with the minimal clothes he had. The beginnings of frost patterns form at the base of his ragged shawl that fall past his shoulders, and he was _barefoot_ the entire time. (Was that normal?)

She’s surprised he hadn’t turned into ice or passed out from the subzero temperature. The slightest disdain she previously had for him vanished, and was immediately replaced with warmth and sympathy in her eyes.

“Let’s get you inside. I’m sure we have something warm for you back in the—”

“I appreciate your kindness, ma’am, but I am _perfectly_ fine.”

“Yep, I’m not buying it.”

Without another second thought, she hoisted him to his feet with strength he never knew she would have, all while she held onto her horse. Though, Anna could feel his arm practically ice-cold through his thin and soaking sleeve. He must have been out here for too long, the poor boy.

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I _insist,”_ again, the princess took him by the wrist as he instructed him how to mount the horse. He guessed he had no other choice but to comply, seeing as she showed no signs of giving up. “I promise you, kid, you’ll _love_ Gerda’s hot chocolate!”

Once he’s behind her, she starts steering her horse in the direction of the route she’d taken prior, so she could lead them back to the town. His hand then tries to find something to hold onto so he won’t slide off, and she notices this, yanking his arms to loop them around her waist.

The stranger tensed at the touch as if it made it burn his hand, but despite him resisting, she managed to make him clung onto the fabric of her cloak instead. Maybe it was because of the staff he’d been holding onto, why he struggled to steady himself. Anna then suppresses a shiver down her spine, and didn’t bring up the fact that he was as icy and cool as winter itself, knowing well how he needed a glass of hot chocolate by the fire, no matter how much he denies it.

“What was your name again?”

“Jack, I think…?” he said, as he tried to get his head around it. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s Jack.” he finally confirms.

“A pleasure to meet you, Jack,” she threw a glance behind her back as the horse trotted along the tree lines. He could easily see her face morph into something less hostile, and the beginnings of a smile curl up her lips. “By any chance, are your parents in town?”

“Parents?”

“Oh…” a pang of sadness hits her at the realization that he probably lost or never even met his own set of parents. “Don’t you have one? A family?”

A silence lasted for a full five seconds between them, and Anna feels as if she made the wrong choice of bringing it up. Jack doesn’t seem to be too bothered about it.

“A family?” he repeated curiously, the word completely foreign to him. Suddenly, there’s a sinking feeling in his chest at the mention of it. To him, it didn’t mean a _thing._ Until now, at least.

“Ah, you really don’t know, do you?” the freckled girl asked as she eyed him pitifully.

Jack shook his head. “No, not really.”

“It’s kind of like being in a home with people who care about you and love you,” she supplied, forming up the words in her head to fully lay it out for him, doing her best to give him an inkling of what it meant. “Usually, there’s at least a mother and a father looking after the children. You can even have two moms, or even two dads! It doesn’t even matter whether you’re related or not; it’s all the same as long as you are loved and cherished.”

Jack marveled at the idea, and she could hear his small gasp. “Do you have a family? What’s it like?”

“I do. But my parents…” she hesitantly stopped, suppressing the urge to cry her eyes out for their recent passing. So, the princess leaves that part out, deciding to choose her next words carefully. “Let’s just say I only have my sister left.”

 _Oh._ Right, the sister she mentioned earlier, the one she wasn’t talking so fondly of. “So what’s the deal with your sister?”

“See, we never really _see_ each other as often,” there was a frustrated sigh following her reply. Jack can sense the inner conflict emitting from her voice. “I get a glimpse of her, sure, but we don’t get to play anymore. We used to, as kids, but…”

“But what?”

“It happened years ago, and next thing I knew, there’s this door in my face,” Anna’s lips curled into a frown and her gaze dropped to the unmarked path buried in heaps of snow. “We eat at different times, separate lessons. Heck, they don’t even let me talk to her!”

 _Maybe her sister was a lot like him_. “You sure this sister of yours even… exists?”

“What…?” her face was pinched in confusion, though he can’t see it from behind. “Yes! I know she _exists,_ for as long as I can remember!”

“Oh.” was the only thing he managed to respond with.

“But I’m hoping things will turn around. And maybe we could play again, just like old times.” the girl told him wistfully.

“I wish I had a sister,” he said longingly, and he shifts in his seat. His voice then suddenly transitioned into something of disdain. “Except for the shutting out part. I’d gladly pass on that.”

That was _low,_ even by her standards. “Hey!”

Even if there was no way of her seeing it, Jack raised his hands as if he meant no disrespect by it. “Just saying. Your sister sounded horri—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

“But… I thought you were mad at her?” Jack was startled by her change in demeanor, coming to her sister’s defense despite how upset she initially was of her treatment. This made things complicated to him now, and now he’s undecided whether or not he wanted any sibling _at all._

“Well, yes, but no, not really,” Anna grimaced, realizing that maybe, deep down, they really weren’t in a proper shape to deal with things. “We lost our parents to a storm, and… I think maybe we don’t know what to do about it.”

“Why?”

“You know, everyone is faced with a loss in their life. Not everyone is ready to accept it yet,” a soft sigh pushes past her lips; her voice taking on a serious yet understanding tone. It’s as if she was slowly learning the reason behind why she was shunned out so harshly this time around. “And people are hurt by it.”

“And when people hurt, they tend to hurt others back in ways they’re not aware of. Or that’s what they tell me.” Jack finished for her.

“Who—?”

Before the orphan boy could respond, the faint little town came into view. It was only then did Jack notice they reached the point of entrance. Soon, they were accompanied by the guards, which Anna regarded with a short nod and a polite smile. Their ride doesn’t stop until they are by these huge doors at the end of the cobbled path.

“It’s late. Kai’s probably looking all over for me.”

 _No shit._ They were escorted to the dead center of the city. She must be someone really important, Jack figured.

For the last couple of hours, majority of the guards and officers had been sent to retrieve her from the forest. The palace was alight with panic and distress as they frantically searched through and through.

“Yep.” the boy nodded to the castle gates, as her two loyal servants rushed towards her direction to welcome her back.

“Princess Anna! Where have you been? We searched everywhere for you!”

The boy’s eyes widened. A _princess?_ With that sassy and snobby attitude? _That explains a lot._ Jack guessed she perfectly fit the role.

“I was out in the woods, Gerda,” she said simply, removing her cloak off her shoulders to hand it over to the maid. “To clear my head—with a friend of mine, of course.”

As Anna climbs down to dismount from the saddle, she waits a little before he could assist Jack to descend the steep leather seat. He appreciates the gesture, but he was quick to descend the horse, landing perfectly on his feet as if he was light as a feather.

“What friend? You brought back a _stranger?”_ the family butler searches for said person, for anyone who had been following her. Confused, Kai double checks, as he was certain the horse only had one rider the entire time. Kai had no idea who the young princess could be referring to.

“He’s _freezing,_ Kai, I can’t just _leave_ him out there. He needs to get by the fire.” she gestures to the empty space by the foot of the landing.

Peering into the castle, careful not to trip over the steps and wind up on his face on the concrete floor, Jack grips his staff tightly. Anna beckons him over, sensing his discomfort at how easily he’d been dismissed and ignored by her attendants, as if he wasn’t even _there._

Kai’s brow creased in concern, brushing it off with a small chortle. “What do you mean? I see no fellow.”

“Hey! That’s a rude thing to say to a guest of mine.” Anna continued further down the carpeted hall as Jack quietly trails behind her, his head bowed and eyes casted down on the floor.

The family butler shook his head. “Princess, it’s dark. I understand that you are tired, having been outside for who knows how long.”

Anna laughed, and figured that they maybe playing some game of sorts. Jack was right behind her, his bare feet leaving wet imprints on the carpet—they couldn’t _possibly_ miss him.

“So _you’re_ saying I could see ghosts now? Hilarious, Kai!” Anna snorted. This boy—he _couldn’t_ be a ghost. He was there, and she could _swear_ she saw tears pooling against the walls of his eyes. He’s too _real_ to be one. If she remembers correctly, her hand didn’t go through his twig of an arm. That should be enough proof.

The head butler was about to say something but bit back his tongue, in fear of further offending the lady in front of him. Gerda spoke up instead. “I’m terribly sorry, Princess, but… I believe there is no one there.”

_How…?_

“I could only assume that you’re worn out from all the time it took to return… and considering the weather.” Kai deduced, wringing his gloved hands when the princess shook her head.

Gerda and Kai shared a worried look. There’s no denying that she’s paled from the prolonged exposure to the cold, her nose red and runny. She was in drastic need of a rest.

 _“No way._ How come you can’t see him?”

Jack was _right_ there—

“See _who_ exactly, Your Grace?”


End file.
